In the recent times, people are growing from bad to worse. As a result, crusades are being amplified that we should not help people we do not know. We hear this on the radio, watch the advert on the Teevee and read it on the pages of the newspapers. What this means is that we should not give help to the people that we don’t know, for example ‘harbouring’ them, for the fear of not being ruined, because of the days which are evil.
Conversely, the above crusade is very bad because it contradicts the ancient rule our forebears operated on – love. When people are fed with the crass crusade of not helping the people they don’t know, we are then burgeoning to a world that is enslaved to fear and hate, non-challant and inhumane attitudes.
For ages, love has been the bedrock of mankind, superseding all things. And there has never been any measure that was outlined by any Golden Rules on how we should exhibit love to people, except as we are being sold and hoodwinked to measure the extent our love and care for people should go today, because of the perceived inhumane practices that have characterized our world, ranging from terrorism to suicide bombing, from lack of trust to unfriendliness etcetera. But come what may, love is expedient no matter that there are circumstances that compel our care and love to people to wax cold. In earnest, we have to resist the temptation of the mind, pushing us not to love and care for people again, because of the inimical acts we experience daily people exhibit to their benefactors. Such radio, teevee and newspapers crusades brainwashing us not to help people we don’t know, should be waved with the back of the left hand. If in the course of helping and caring and loving the people we do not know and your end comes, so be it. People must be helped.
Our help, care and love for people we don’t know should not mean that we must be partners in their crimes, if we know they are in any. Helping the people we do not know is a reprieve to the soul and a comfort to them. Caring for those who are in need of our care is always a balm onto the soul. We must rebuild in our everyday attitude the art of going extra-miles to care for people and love them. There should be no sentiment while we indulge in this practice. We can’t finish our care and love to only the people we think we know. Even among the people we know better, there have been lions among them and they will not abate. Life is a risk. The only better way to avoid the vicissitudes of life is to confront them constructively, because fear is a big barrier to our entire growth as a people. Don’t be a slave to fear.
Being a segregationist will not help our world. And it has not helped before. What will really help our world is for all to eschew creed, tribe, religion, class and begin to see all people as one and attend to their needs when they are at our disposal to do so. Favour that was not seeked is better than the favour that was seeked before it was shown. We need to come out of the cave, because of the fear of the unknown: what the outcome of our help and care for people might cause us. Whether we like it or not, people must betray people. If Jesus Christ in the bible had thought the way of avoiding to help people, Lazarus would not have been resurrected.
Christ showed that he cared for his friends – Martha and Mary – when a message came to Him from them that their brother Lazarus was ill. Jesus went to see them, but before he could arrive Bethany, Lazarus had died. To show that He cared, Jesus didn’t mind the long journey of about two days on foot he took to Bethany. He didn’t mind crossing the Jordan River and climbing the rough road of Jericho to show care and love to this family when they were in need of care and love. (John 10: 40 – 42; 11: 6, 17-20, 28, 29).
It is necessary that we care for people and show them love, not money. We can’t care for our lives enough in this present world of terror and terrorism. Let our positive lifestyles influence the world. Let us not be like the terrorists, insurgents, arsonists and their like who don’t care about human life. Let us avoid any doctrine by any government, religion or school that is preaching against showing care and love to people we do not know. It takes good people to rule the world, but whereby good people decide to hide, because of the few evil-minded persons around us, evil will soon envelope our world, hence sending care and love on a perpetual errand.
Odimegwu Onwumere, Poet/Author, Media/Writing Consultant and Motivator, is the Founder of Poet Against Child Abuse (PACA), Rivers State
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